Wednesday, June 30, 2010

I am clearly very handicap in regards to technology. With such an encumbrance, it never occurred to me that you can text pictures to your email! Even without internet! Oh, how you learn new things everyday. Anyhow, lucky for all of you, you will now have access to view my future wedding dress...assuming it is still sitting at the Rexburg DI in 2+ years for the fabulous price of $40.00. And, also assuming that I don't gain that sophomore seventeen (or is it seventy?) because we had a difficult time zipping it up as is. Anyhow, enjoy!I know, I know, the dress is basically to die for. Now you know what you were missing out on.

P.S. For any of you who enjoy the BYU vs. SUU posts, I've definitely got another one comin' so get excited...

Monday, June 28, 2010

So, once upon a time, my cousins-Mary and Anna-and I decided to take a road trip. Our awesome cousin Hailey is going to school at BYU-I in Rexburg and we thought it might be fun to hit it up some weekend. So we packed our duffel bags, mooched milk and cereal from Aunt Gretchen (not to mention a tank of gas), and set out on our wonderful journey.

The terrible traffic finally cleared up past Logan-ish. And the rest of the trip went smoothly (*cough* minus A. the time when Mary had to slam on her brakes in order to stop her car from careening into the car in front of us that had stopped-not slowed down, mind you-but just suddenly stopped and B. the time that Mary was driving on the wrong side of the road at like 10mph and another car was coming our way *cough.*) But really. It was a pretty awesome drive, despite the near deaths and the fact that we spent an extra hour in the car due to the horrific traffic.

Now, as is understandable, we were a little worried about the trip. I mean, it's Idaho. Like, when you think Idaho you think potatoes. And, I mean, I'm all for potatoes. Really, I love them. But a whole state that has no other identifiable assets? Yeah. We were a bit distressed about how this was going to turn out. And we were going to the heart of a college campus. And not just any college campus-but BYU-I. The place where you go if you are too righteous for BYU Provo. And, apparently, too desperate for Provo, as was made obvious by this lovely sign situated on the first apartment complex we saw upon arriving:

But-not to worry-Hailey lived in the apartment next to the above monstrosity. Also lucky for us, we have an awesome and a half cousin who got the party going before we even walked in her door. We went straight to a drive-in-theater. I barely missed the drive-in-theater craze in my youth-so the one and only drive in movie I have ever attended played Zorro and The Parent Trap. This time, we were apparently on a Cameron Diaz marathon-because we watched Knight and Day and Shrek Forever After.

***Movie critique: I didn't think Day and Knight deserved all the awesome ratings it has been getting. Shrek was funny...but I don't know if I would have enjoyed it if it weren't 1 in the morning***

On Saturday we went garage saling and then to DI. I purchased a most fabulous purse for the most fabulous price of 1 dollar (Bob, one dollar! okay, sorry). And, I regret to inform you, that I also tried this epic wedding dress-with poofy sleeves, mermaid cut, ruffles-we're talking about the ninety's works- but the camera I took on the trip had no memory left on it and had no batteries left (I'm super prepared)-sorry (p.s. thanks mary-I stole these photos from your facebook). You're missing out. I promise. But we also went to this little boutique that had these cute hair things. When we saw them we said, "Those are super cute. But we could totally make that." So we reached deep (some had to reach deeper than others) for that crafty side and ravaged the local Wal-Mart to create these:All that churning of creative juices made us starving so we went to the Teriyaki Grill. We ordered 2 plates for 5 people and still couldn't finish it. That's how much food they served. And it was delish.

Next on the agenda was traversing through these wicked sah-weet ice caves. It was like Nutty Putty cave mixed with Spooky-the slot canyon-but in the arctic. I was soaked to the bone...and being soaked in jeans is quite uncomfortable. So the bonfire with s'mores after the hike was especially fan-freaking-tastic.

In the morning on Sunday we went to church...Okay, it was just the sacrament meeting portion and I had to pinch myself to stop me from falling asleep because of all the partying of the weekend. After that we had to say goodbye. The drive home was still awesome, but much less...exciting...in regards to death. Anyway. Awesome weekend.I LOVE MY COUSINS!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Another thing I've noticed while perusing BYU is the abundance of nerds.

This is a terribly awful thing to say, especially considering the fact that I don't really know know many people on campus. However, just walking around you can sense the generally dorkiness. Now, clearly, BYU doesn't consist entirely of a population of pocket protector-wearing geeks. But let's just say that the number of men I see sporting parted missionary hair is way too high. And conversations I overhear walking across campus can be pretty ridiculous. And nerdy paraphernalia abounds.

Don't think I'm being a hater-because I'm not. In fact, my high school years were filled with friends who were orch dorks and choir queers and an occasional band geek (there weren't too many because the band at SHS is reminiscent of a cult...no one really said it-but we all knew it). I was one of those choir queers (though, not a true one-I was in and out of choir throughout the years and I finally quit halfway through my senior year (best decision ever)-oh-and I refused to sing on the bus-clearly, I am not a true choir queer...but I digress).

So, yeah. Nerds and IQs abound here are BYU.

And, speaking of choir queers, such is the epitome of SUU. Just kidding. Kind of.

Hold on...I feel a random tangent that I must get out before I continue: Okay, so lots of people assume the SUU is only for theater majors...but its NOT. There are plenty of other majors at SUU. That is why it's a university...get it? Yeah, I thought so.

Okay. Now that everyone is aware that SUU is, in fact, a real college, we can discuss SUU's thespianism. SUU lives in the same town where the Shakespearean Festival is held. Thus, Cedar City is filled with copious amounts of drama loving people. And that is one thing I notice on campus quite often. Whether it's the outrageously planned costumes at the institute's themed dances or the people singing at the top of their lungs (and to/by themselves, mind you) as they walk across campus, you can tell that you're in Festival City, USA.

Again, having choir going friends through high school, I'm actually quite used to random bursts of song.

Anyway. I don't which one is better-geeks or thespians. But that's the difference. And thus it is.

Friday, June 4, 2010

I mentioned earlier that I thought it would be interesting to compare the two universities I've experienced thus far in my life. I was going to pull out a bulleted list expressing my thoughts on each school...But I have realized that I have LOTS to say about this. So. This is the beginning. The beginning of a series of posts expressing my thoughts on each school. It should be interesting. For all of us. And thus it begins.

BYU vs. SUU Part 1: Thou Shalt Not Sin

Now, it is quite obvious that BYU has...different standards than SUU. And by different, I mean higher. I mean everyone knows about the strict honor code (like how you can't even go to the bathroom at a guy's apartment because the moment you descend into the abyss that is the more private area of living, more specifically, the bathroom, you will be tempted to fornicate). SUU has basic rules-like no alcohol on campus...but nothing as strict as BYU.

To each their own, yeah?

However, it seems that no one breaks rules. Period. Even rules that aren't specifically stated. Like, no one cuts across the lawn to more efficiently get from point A to point B. Also, I've noticed that no one crosses the street unless they are at a cross walk and the walking guy symbol is up. Forget about the fact that there are zero cars present-crossing without that walking guy's okay-is unforgivable. Trust me, I find myself pretty capable at knowing when it's okay to cross and when I might get run over if I do. So, I'll cross if it's clear, regardless of whether or not the walking guy is coaxing me forward. And when I do this, people stare. And no one ever follows me. I've only seen 2 other people cross "illegally" in the month that I've been here.

I'm convinced that this is directly related to a conversation a professor struck up in my driving class. The first week that I started work, I was sent off to a driving course where we spent two hours listening to a guy tell us not to text and drive, which I already knew, haughty as it may sound. But half way through the lecture the professor stopped talking for a second then said, "You know, during your temple recommend interview, your bishop asks you if you obey and adhere to the laws of the land. If you speed, are you really worthy of that recommend? Just something to think about."

And maybe, you know, I'm not worthy...because this morning I was going 65 mph over Ironton Hill-a 55 mph zone-along with the majority of the other-very likely LDS-drivers I was around.

Anyway, the point is that people here at BYU follow the rules. More than me. And it very well may be due to the constant guilt trips these kids are getting during their driving courses. However, I will not judge. In fact, I give kudos to those people who so ardently obey the walking guy.

But I'm pretty sure that I'm still going to cross when I deem it safe. And I'll probably cut across the grass too, you know, if not too many people are watching.